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Dealing with Differences

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Submitted By jhavca
Words 1326
Pages 6
CEPL553
Dealing With Differences
Course Project
The four parts of this course project are laid out sequentially. Please complete one part of the project before proceeding to the next. Please do not submit your project for review until you have completed Part Four.

Part One
Analyze the Team's Cultural Differences
Naomi, the project manager for the group developing the new F.W. Inc. MicroWidget 3000, is aware that there are a number of potential pitfalls on a team as diverse as hers. Naomi asks you to analyze her team and make recommendations about the project management skills, behaviors and competencies she might need to exercise to make sure that she is appropriately leveraging the diverse perspectives on her team.

Look at the function and nationality columns on the MicroWidget 3000 Project Member Profiles chart. Using the work of Hofstede and Hall, briefly describe the differences in cultural dimensions that might exist on this team (in later parts of this project, you will consider other sources of difference). For example, are certain members from cultures with a high PDI (Power Distance Index) and some from cultures with a low PDI? What might this mean for how the team functions? Finally, list any potential work subculture conflicts that might exist.

The differences in cultural dimensions that might exist on this team:
American, Austrian and Swedish: Small power distance, low uncertainty avoidance
Japanese & Guatemalan: Large power distance index and strong uncertainty avoidance index
Indian: Large power distance index and low uncertainty avoidance index.
The team members in the group come from diverse power distance index and uncertainty avoidance index characteristics. Japanese, Indian and Guatemalan have high PDI compared American and other members from western countries. On the other hand, American and European team members have low

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